Who would have thought.....a grilled cake! I must admit it was a first for me. A Schichttorte is a German creation with 20 layers of grilled cake batter, alternating between lighter and darker layers. You will notice (and perhaps be relieved) that this week's technical bake challenge doesn't have quite so many steps as last week's. Don't be deceived though, this doesn't mean this is a quick task - to grill 20 layers of cake alone takes almost an hour. You will need to use your oven timer like never before to ensure each layer doesn't over-bake, and a good pair of oven gloves to handle the tin whilst layering up your cake between bakes....and I defy anyone not to lose track of how many layers you have done without keeping a running 'tally' as you go - have a pen and paper to hand!

My main concern was how to ensure I got 20 layers of cake out of the batter. The 'Monica' in me was tempted to weigh out the batter for each layer but I resisted the urge and just tried to be consistent with how much batter I spooned out for each layer - between 2-3 tablespoons seemed to be about right. Okay, I must admit the last couple of layers were a little on the skinny side, but I did get the 20 layers!

Making this bake free from gluten and dairy wasn't too complex. I used my usual favourite gluten-free flour - Dove's Farm, this time in the plain variety, and added 1/2 tsp of Xantham Gum. A gluten-free cake batter needs to be slightly wetter than its gluten alternative so I added a little milk. To make it dairy-free simply use dairy-free spread in place of butter, and your choice of almond or rice milk in place of regular milk.

Method1) Whisk the egg yolks in the bowl of a free-standing mixer on a high speed for five minutes, until pale, thick and creamy.

2) In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the lemon zest and vanilla paste and mix well. Add the whisked egg yolks and beat well. Add the flour and cornflour and mix.3) In a clean grease-free bowl, whick the egg-whites until soft peaks form. Stir one-third of the egg whites into the batter to loosen the consistency. Then gently fold the remaining egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold until combined but don't over-do it as you'll loose all the air that are in the egg whites.4) Preheat the grill to high5) Grease a 20cm/8 inch springform tin with oil and line the base with parchment paper.6) Spoon some of the batter into the base of the cake tin and spread evenly across the bottom. Place on a shelf 10cm/4 inches below the grill and cook for 2 minutes or until light golden-brown - the picture below is the first layer just grilled - doesn't it look just like pancake?!

7) Remove the grill, add another spoonful of batter, spread out with a pastry brush and place under the grill for three minutes or until dark brown. Continue layering and grilling until you have 20 layers alternating in colour from light golden-brown to dark golden-brown.8) Remove from the grill and leave to cool in the tin for five minutes. Allow yourself a victory dance around your kitchen - the grilling is over! Run a knife around the edge of the cake then release from the tin and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.9) Next to make an apricot glaze to help the chocolate glaze stick to the cake. Melt the apricot jam in a small pan over a low heat. Pass through a fine sieve, then brush the top an.d sides of the cake with jam.

10) For the chocolate glaze, melt the butter in a small pan with the golden syrup, rum and vanilla paste and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for five minutes. Stir in the chocolate until melted and transfer to a bowl to allow to cool to a coating consistency.11) Place a large piece of greaseproof paper under the wire rack holding the cake. Pour the glaze evenly over the cake to cover completely. Any excess glaze will be caught on the greaseproof paper and can be reused to fill in any unglazed areas of the cake.12) For the vanilla glaze, sieve the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the rum, vanilla paste and milk, stirring until completely smooth. Drizzle over the chocolate glaze in any pattern you wish. I chose 'feathering' which is achieved by piping a swirl of the second glaze over the first then using a cocktail stick to 'drag' the icing into the middle from the edges, and alternating this with dragging it from the centre out.

So, the penultimate technical bake challenge is complete, but what will the Bake Off judges give us for The Final?!

Leave a Reply.

Author

Helen owns and runs The Buttercup Kitchen, a cake design company in Woking, Surrey. Welcome to our blog which indulges in all things baking and cake decorating. Do add comments or questions on our posts, we'd love to hear from you!